Hemangiopericytoma of the posterior cervical space and occipital bone is an uncommon lesion which should be considered in the differential diagnosis of a lumpy and highly vascular lesion of the posterior cervical space. We report the case of a 47-year-old woman who experienced sudden and painful occipital and posterior cervical swelling. She underwent a blind biopsy which was complicated by profuse bleeding. The palpable lesion was not properly diagnosed preoperatively, and the endocranial extension of the lesion was overlooked by her surgeon who performed a blind biopsy without adequate diagnostic imaging who inadvertently invaded the posterior cranial fossa during biopsy. We would like to emphasize the need for appropriate non-invasive diagnostic investigations before any biopsy of head and neck lesions that may extend deeply.
Copyright © 2011 European Association for Cranio-Maxillo-Facial Surgery. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.